Electrostatic copiers provided with photoconductors of the type which include a plurality of photoconductive sections connected in series with one another so as to form an endless strip-like photoconductor, have been provided with suitable means for serially feeding the photoconductive sections from the bottom of a zigzag folded stack of such sections, at a storage station, through several processing stations and then to the top of the stack.
At the storage station of one known copier there has been provided apparatus for storing the photoconductive sections, including an elongated receptacle having a generally U-shaped transverse cross-section formed by a pair of oppositely disposed walls. The walls define an upper inlet opening through which processed photoconductive sections are successively fed to the top of the stack, and a lower outlet opening through which stored photoconductive sections are successively fed from the bottom of the stack. The receptacle walls extend downwardly and convergently toward one another from the inlet opening to the outlet opening, for guiding the folds of the photoconductive sections progressively closer to the outlet opening than the midportions thereof in transit through the receptacle. With this arrangement the stack is bowed upwardly within the receptacle to facilitate feeding the photoconductive sections from the bottom of the stack. The photoconductor storing apparatus also includes a pair of tamping devices, slidably attached to the opposite receptacle walls, and a pair of suitably driven rocker arms arranged to alternately lift the tamping devices and allow the same to fall, under the influence of gravity, against the opposite folds of the photoconductive sections as they are fed to the top of the stack. The tamping devices thus cooperate with the receptacle walls in guiding the folds of the photoconductive sections below the level of their respective mid-portions.
In the above described storing apparatus the photoconductive sections tend to resist being upwardly bowed. The forces exerted upwardly on the tamping devices often prevent the same from sliding as far downwardly on the receptacle walls as is permitted by the rocker arms. When the tamping devices are thereby disassociated from the rocker arms they can become cocked in place on the receptacle walls, or supported high enough on the receptacle walls to permit the same to interfere with the passage of the folds of the photoconductive sections to the top of the stack. Accordingly:
An object of the present invention is to provide an improved electrostatic copier; and
Another object is to provide improved apparatus for storing photoconductive sections in a zigzag folded stack at the storage station of an electrostatic copier.